Khomari et al. Biological Procedures Online (2021) 23:8 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12575-021-00145-9 REVIEW Open Access Effects of Cell Proteostasis Network on the Survival of SARS-CoV-2 Fateme Khomari1, Mohsen Nabi-Afjadi2, Sahar Yarahmadi1, Hanie Eskandari3 and Elham Bahreini1* Abstract The proteostasis network includes all the factors that control the function of proteins in their native state and minimize their non-functional or harmful reactions. The molecular chaperones, the important mediator in the proteostasis network can be considered as any protein that contributes to proper folding and assembly of other macromolecules, through maturating of unfolded or partially folded macromolecules, refolding of stress-denatured proteins, and modifying oligomeric assembly, otherwise it leads to their proteolytic degradation. Viruses that use the hosts’ gene expression tools and protein synthesis apparatus to survive and replicate, are obviously protected by such a host chaperone system. This means that many viruses use members of the hosts’ chaperoning system to infect the target cells, replicate, and spread. During viral infection, increase in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress due to high expression of viral proteins enhances the level of heat shock proteins (HSPs) and induces cell apoptosis or necrosis. Indeed, evidence suggests that ER stress and the induction of unfolded protein response (UPR) may be a major aspect of the corona-host virus interaction. In addition, several clinical reports have confirmed the autoimmune phenomena in COVID-19-patients, and a strong association between this autoimmunity and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Part of such autoimmunity is due to shared epitopes among the virus and host. This article reviews the proteostasis network and its relationship to the immune system in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Keywords: Coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Chaperone, Proteostasis Introduction the first step of viral infection that is occurred through Since 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome interaction of viral spike glycoprotein and angiotensin- coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, the seventh hu- converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. High infection of man coronavirus infectious disease, has affected about the virus due to high rate of its proliferation, naturally 218 countries and territories and caused the deaths of leads to mutations in its genome, which, if the host pro- hundreds of thousands of people around the world. It tein synthesis, maturation and modification systems causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with high work together, leads to more aggressive forms of the rates of infection and severe respiratory disorders char- virus and greater resistance [1]. Like other viruses, acterized by early symptoms of fever, cough, sputum SARCE-CoV-2 mutates over time to adapt. Indeed, production, fatigue, and myalgia. SARS-CoV-2 is an thousands of mutations have occurred since the virus enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus was identified [2]. The genome of RNA viruses is highly with a genome of nearly 30,000 nucleotides containing susceptible to random mutations, due to the lack of 5′ capped and 3′ polyadenylated. Entry into host cells is proofreading activity in their viral RNA polymerase [3]. The resulting variance in the protein sequence may lead to changes in the structure and function of the protein * Correspondence: [email protected] 1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical that strengthen viral survival capability, pathogenicity Sciences, P.O. Box: 1449614525, Tehran, Iran and epidemics. The survival of the virus despite such Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Khomari et al. Biological Procedures Online (2021) 23:8 Page 2 of 10 mutations may due to the involvement of the host pro- generated by their sustained flight, which causes cells to teostasis network [1, 4]. survive under stress [9, 10]. For example, the elevated The proteostasis network includes all the factors that HSP70 binds to and degrades the p65 subunit of NFκB control the function of proteins in their native state and in such conditions, and inhibits the “cytokine storm” minimize their non-functional or harmful reactions [5]. [11] caused by viral infection such as SARS. Many small proteins can achieve their folding even after the denaturators have been removed, due to the specific information sequence in their molecule; but those with The Proteostasis Network more complex structures or multiple domains or sub- During synthesis, the protein undergoes a variety of con- units require regulators and/or mediators such as chap- formations until it reaches its most thermodynamically erones to achieve their main folding, otherwise they stable form by creating intramolecular interactions. enter intracellular digestion processes such as prote- Nevertheless, abnormal intramolecular interactions may asome or autophagy systems [6]. Thus, in a virus attack, occur that are thermodynamically more stable than the on the one hand, the body’s immune system may be native state, leading to the formation of various species stimulated against the invading agent and chaperone including oligomers, amorphous aggregates, and amyloid molecules may have positive effects in this stimulation, fibers [12]. The proteostasis network blocks such spon- and on the other side, the correcting and chaperoning taneous interactions during and after translation, which molecular system may help the invader to survive. Vi- may lead to problems such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ruses themselves do not have molecular chaperones and cardiomyopathy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [13]. must use infected host chaperones [7]. Overexpression A proteostasis network consisting of ~ 2000 proteins of host chaperones can be beneficial to the virus life in human cells is essential to control the normal state cycle, including virus entry into the host cell, disassem- and functional levels of proteins to minimize potentially bly, activation of viral polymerases, transmission of the useless reactions or harmful pathways due to deformed virus genome to the nucleus, as well as synthesis of or accumulated proteins [5]. The three arms of this net- structural proteins, the assembly, and the release of viral work activity are protein synthesis, folding conform- particles from the host cell. During these processes, both ational maintenance and degradation. Different the cytoplasmic factor and the endoplasmic reticulum molecular chaperones cooperate with this network in come into play. However, the capacity of the cell chap- folding, refolding and disaggregation reactions [5]. Chap- eroning activity is limited and mass production of viral erones can be considered as a functionally related group proteins in infected host cells induces ER stress due to of proteins that help other macromolecules to achieve the production and accumulation of unfolded and mis- natural folding or proper assembly, under physiological folded viral proteins. ER stress induces the unfolded pro- and stress conditions. If the repair is useless, they lead tein response (UPR), a process that aims to restore the the abnormal proteins to the cellular digestive system, ER homeostasis by suppressing translation and increas- the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the ing the ER folding capacity, otherwise, disrupted cell autophagosome-lysosomal machinery [14, 15]. In proteosis leads to apoptosis or cell necrosis [7, 8]. addition to correcting the physical structure of proteins, It has been proved that bats are a repository for a var- they mediate the solubility of misfolded proteins and iety of viruses, including the Ebola viruses, coronaviruses prevent their self-association and toxic aggregation. (CoVs), the Nipah and Hendra viruses [9]. Bats infected However, the presence of various factors such as stress, with these viruses are clinically asymptomatic, but these mutation, heavy metals, reactive oxygen species, transla- viruses often cause severe infections and mortality in tional deviation or mRNA defect may overshadow cell mammals. For example, Ebola, a filovirus causes repair operations and increase the possibility of abnor- hemorrhagic disease, and CoVs cause severe acute re- mal intramolecular and/or intermolecular interactions spiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syn- [13, 16]. Chaperons typically recognize exposed hydro- drome (MERS), porcine epidemic diarrhea